Google

Following reports and rumors for several weeks, the US Justice Department has officially announced an antitrust lawsuit against Google and its search dominance in the United States. The suit is supported by 11 States.

Following an over year-long investigation and Congressional testimony from CEOs in July, the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday published a report on “Competition in Digital Markets.” Google is one of the four companies facing scrutiny for its dominance and antitrust concerns.

Google announced nearly a year ago that it would purchase Fitbit to strengthen its wearable catalog, but the deal has been subject to scrutiny by regulatory authorities. As the investigation continues, a new report from Reuters claims that Google will be given the green light in its deal to purchase Fitbit by the EU.

Google has long considered sustainability a “core value” and has spurred its industry peers to adopt green commitments. The company today announced its “third decade of climate action” with an ambitious pledge to go carbon-free.

According to the New York Times, the US Justice Department is planning to file the federal government’s antitrust case against Google as soon as this month. Today’s report notably reveals a rushed approach that’s criticized for being political.

Back in May, Apple and Google rolled out a system to help trace who has COVID-19. The two companies today announced “Exposure Notifications Express” to hopefully boost adoption by doing most of the hard technical work. As such, local health agencies no longer have to create individual apps, but rather can rely on Apple and Google.

Google has requested authorization from the FCC to test in the 6 GHz band. Related to “providing reliable broadband connections,” the specifics are being kept under wraps as the company asks for “confidential treatment” as part of a New Experimental Radio Service License.

This afternoon has been an interesting one for fans of Apple, Google, and Fortnite alike, as the three companies have become intermingled in a pair of lawsuits. Epic Games, the creators of Fortnite, have now filed a lawsuit against Google for anticompetitive practices between Android and the Google Play Store.

Samsung is one of the biggest chipset manufacturers in the world, and according to a report from Korea the company is getting two big new orders, and one of them comes from Google for a chip that tracks body movement.

Alphabet today announced Q2 2020 earnings with $38.3 billion in revenue. These numbers range from April to June, and includes the impact of COVID-19.

The House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law today is hosting a hearing on “Online Platforms and Market Power.” In addition to the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, and Facebook, Sundar Pichai will be testifying about Google’s Search and advertising dominance, as well as antitrust concerns from Congress. Follow along as we highlight the most interesting questions and answers.

Next week, Samsung Unpacked is expected to bring a trio of Android-powered devices. A new report this evening reveals that Google is in talks with Samsung to have Assistant and its other services play a bigger role.

The chief executives of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, and Facebook tomorrow will appear before Congress to answer questions about their market dominance. Sundar Pichai’s written statement was released this evening, and it provides a high-level overview of Google’s defense against antitrust allegations.

At the start of this month, it emerged that Europe could approve the sale of Fitbit if Google pledged not to use data for ads. Last week, Google committed to that, but Europe’s regulators reportedly have new demands concerning Fitbit data and Search.

Google today offered a pledge that it would not use Fitbit data for advertising if its acquisition went through. This reportedly addresses a big European demand before approving the Google-Fitbit deal.